Friends -

Here’s a statistic that’s really got me worried:

Half of low-income families with children have no books at home. Zero. None.

These families rely on schools and libraries to provide books to help their children learn how to read. But now the schools and libraries are closed, and millions of kids are stuck at home, with not a single book to read.

So the other day, I had one of those middle-of-the-night ideas. Now I’m putting it into action, and I need your help.

What if when low-income kids in Connecticut came to pick up their meals from their school in the morning, they were handed an age-appropriate book as well?

What if we did this each week, and made sure that every week, low-income kids got another book to read in the middle of this crisis?

So today, I’m hoping we can raise some money to pull this off and help distribute books to low-income families in our community.

Will you make a donation to help us get books into the hands of kids who need them? Just $10 would cover the cost of books for 3 kids.

We’re working with the literacy non-profit Read to Grow and RJ Julia Booksellers to help make this happen. Our plan is to start this program in Bridgeport, with the help of the heroic food service workers who hand out free breakfast and lunch every morning at 20 Bridgeport schools.

We’ll have options for every grade level and in English and Spanish. We’ll make sure the books are culturally relevant. And we’re going to buy the books in bulk. We estimate that it’ll cost us about $3 per book. So whatever you can afford to give would go a long way.

Our team is ready to get started. All we need is your support. So will you pitch in to help us make sure families still have access to books at home during this crisis?

Thank you in advance for helping us support our neighbors in need. It means a lot to me to watch our country come together in this moment.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy